Strong edge colorings of uniform graphs

For a graph G=(V(G),E(G)), a strong edge coloring of G is an edge coloring in which every color class is an induced matching. The strong chromatic index of G, χ_s(G), is the smallest number of colors in a strong edge coloring of G. The strong chromatic index of the random graph G(n,p) was considered in Discrete Math. 281 (2004) 129, Austral. J. Combin. 10 (1994) 97, Austral. J. Combin. 18 (1998) 219 and Combin. Probab. Comput. 11 (1) (2002) 103. In this paper, we consider χ_s(G) for a related class of graphs G known as uniform or ε-regular graphs. In particular, we prove that for 0<ε?d<1, all (d,ε)-regular bipartite graphs G=(U∪V,E) with |U|=|V|?n₀(d,ε) satisfy χ_s(G)?ζ(ε)Δ(G)², where ζ(ε)→0 as ε→0 (this order of magnitude is easily seen to be best possible). Our main tool in proving this statement is a powerful packing result of Pippenger and Spencer (Combin. Theory Ser. A 51(1) (1989) 24).     

On embedding well-separable graphs

Call a simple graph H of order nwell-separable, if by deleting a separator set of size o(n) the leftover will have components of size at most o(n). We prove, that bounded degree well-separable spanning subgraphs are easy to embed: for every γ>0 and positive integer Δ there exists an n₀ such that if n>n₀, Δ(H)?Δ for a well-separable graph H of order n and δ(G)?(1-1/2(χ(H)-1)+γ)n for a simple graph G of order n, then H⊂G. We extend our result to graphs with small band-width, too.     

The edge-face coloring of graphs embedded in a surface of characteristic zero

Let G be a graph embedded in a surface of characteristic zero with maximum degree Δ. The edge-face chromatic number χ_ef(G) of G is the least number of colors such that any two adjacent edges, adjacent faces, incident edge and face have different colors. In this paper, we prove that χ_ef(G)≤Δ+1 if Δ≥13, χ_ef(G)≤Δ+2 if Δ≥12, χ_ef(G)≤Δ+3 if Δ≥4, and χ_ef(G)≤7 if Δ≤3.     

Optimal graphs for chromatic polynomials

Let F(n,e) be the collection of all simple graphs with n vertices and e edges, and for G∈F(n,e) let P(G;λ) be the chromatic polynomial of G. A graph G∈F(n,e) is said to be optimal if another graph H∈F(n,e) does not exist with P(H;λ)?P(G;λ) for all λ, with strict inequality holding for some λ. In this paper we derive necessary conditions for bipartite graphs to be optimal, and show that, contrarily to the case of lower bounds, one can find values of n and e for which optimal graphs are not unique. We also derive necessary conditions for bipartite graphs to have the greatest number of cycles of length 4.     

The Chromatic Index of a Graph Whose Core is a Cycle of Order at Most 13

Let G be a graph. The core of G, denoted by G _Δ, is the subgraph of G induced by the vertices of degree Δ(G), where Δ(G) denotes the maximum degree of G. A k -edge coloring of G is a function f : E(G) → L such that |L| = k and f (e ₁) ≠ f (e ₂) for all two adjacent edges e ₁ and e ₂ of G. The chromatic index of G, denoted by χ′(G), is the minimum number k for which G has a k-edge coloring. A graph G is said to be Class 1 if χ′(G) = Δ(G) and Class 2 if χ′(G) = Δ(G) + 1. In this paper it is shown that every connected graph G of even order whose core is a cycle of order at most 13 is Class 1.     

A result on the total colouring of powers of cycles

The total chromatic number χ_T(G) is the least number of colours needed to colour the vertices and edges of a graph G such that no incident or adjacent elements (vertices or edges) receive the same colour. The Total Colouring Conjecture (TCC) states that for every simple graph G, χ_T(G)?Δ(G)+2. This work verifies the TCC for powers of cycles even and 2<k<n/2, showing that there exists and can be polynomially constructed a (Δ(G)+2)-total colouring for these graphs.     

Ramsey-goodness—and otherwise

A celebrated result of Chvátal, Rödl, Szemerédi and Trotter states (in slightly weakened form) that, for every natural number Δ, there is a constant r _Δ such that, for any connected n-vertex graph G with maximum degree Δ, the Ramsey number R(G,G) is at most r _Δ n, provided n is sufficiently large. In 1987, Burr made a strong conjecture implying that one may take r _Δ = Δ. However, Graham, Rödl and Ruciński showed, by taking G to be a suitable expander graph, that necessarily r _Δ > 2 ^cΔ for some constant c>0. We show that the use of expanders is essential: if we impose the additional restriction that the bandwidth of G be at most some function β(n)=o(n), then R(G,G)≤(2χ(G)+4)n≤(2Δ+6)n, i.e., r _Δ =2Δ+6 suffices. On the other hand, we show that Burr’s conjecture itself fails even for P _n ^k , the kth power of a path P _n . Brandt showed that for any c, if Δ is sufficiently large, there are connected n-vertex graphs G with Δ(G)≤Δ but R(G,K ₃) > cn. We show that, given Δ and H, there are β>0 and n ₀ such that, if G is a connected graph on n≥n ₀ vertices with maximum degree at most Δ and bandwidth at most β _n , then we have R(G,H)=(χ(H)?1)(n?1)+σ(H), where σ(H) is the smallest size of any part in any χ(H)-partition of H. We also show that the same conclusion holds without any restriction on the maximum degree of G if the bandwidth of G is at most ?(H) log n=log logn.     

Complete Multipartite Graphs and the Relaxed Coloring Game

Let k be a positive integer, d be a nonnegative integer, and G be a finite graph. Two players, Alice and Bob, play a game on G by coloring the uncolored vertices with colors from a set X of k colors. At all times, the subgraph induced by a color class must have maximum degree at most d. Alice wins the game if all vertices are eventually colored; otherwise, Bob wins. The least k such that Alice has a winning strategy is called the d-relaxed game chromatic number of G, denoted ?? _g ^d (G). It is known that there exist graphs such that ?? _g ⁰(G)?=?3, but ?? _g ¹(G)?>?3. We will show that for all positive integers m, there exists a complete multipartite graph G such that m?????? _g ⁰(G)?<??? _g ¹(G).     

On equality in an upper bound for the restrained and total domination numbers of a graph

Let G=(V,E) be a graph. A set S⊆V is a restrained dominating set (RDS) if every vertex not in S is adjacent to a vertex in S and to a vertex in V?S. The restrained domination number of G, denoted by γ_r(G), is the minimum cardinality of an RDS of G. A set S⊆V is a total dominating set (TDS) if every vertex in V is adjacent to a vertex in S. The total domination number of a graph G without isolated vertices, denoted by γ_t(G), is the minimum cardinality of a TDS of G.Let δ and Δ denote the minimum and maximum degrees, respectively, in G. If G is a graph of order n with δ?2, then it is shown that γ_r(G)?n-Δ, and we characterize the connected graphs with δ?2 achieving this bound that have no 3-cycle as well as those connected graphs with δ?2 that have neither a 3-cycle nor a 5-cycle. Cockayne et al. [Total domination in graphs, Networks 10 (1980) 211-219] showed that if G is a connected graph of order n?3 and Δ?n-2, then γ_t(G)?n-Δ. We further characterize the connected graphs G of order n?3 with Δ?n-2 that have no 3-cycle and achieve γ_t(G)=n-Δ.     

Connected Resolvability of Graphs

For an ordered set W = {w ₁, w ₂,..., w _k} of vertices and a vertex v in a connected graph G, the representation of v with respect to W is the k-vector r(v|W) = (d(v, w ₁), d(v, w ₂),... d(v, w _k)), where d(x, y) represents the distance between the vertices x and y. The set W is a resolving set for G if distinct vertices of G have distinct representations with respect to W. A resolving set for G containing a minimum number of vertices is a basis for G. The dimension dim(G) is the number of vertices in a basis for G. A resolving set W of G is connected if the subgraph 〈W〉 induced by W is a nontrivial connected subgraph of G. The minimum cardinality of a connected resolving set in a graph G is its connected resolving number cr(G). Thus 1 ≤ dim(G) ≤ cr(G) ≤ n?1 for every connected graph G of order n ≥ 3. The connected resolving numbers of some well-known graphs are determined. It is shown that if G is a connected graph of order n ≥ 3, then cr(G) = n?1 if and only if G = K _n or G = K _1,n?1. It is also shown that for positive integers a, b with a ≤ b, there exists a connected graph G with dim(G) = a and cr(G) = b if and only if $\left( {a,b} \right) \notin \left\{ {\left( {1,k} \right):k = 1\;{\text{or}}\;k \geqslant 3} \right\}$ Several other realization results are present. The connected resolving numbers of the Cartesian products G × K ₂ for connected graphs G are studied.     

Edge-colorings avoiding rainbow and monochromatic subgraphs

For two graphs G and H, let the mixed anti-Ramsey numbers, maxR(n;G,H), (minR(n;G,H)) be the maximum (minimum) number of colors used in an edge-coloring of a complete graph with n vertices having no monochromatic subgraph isomorphic to G and no totally multicolored (rainbow) subgraph isomorphic to H. These two numbers generalize the classical anti-Ramsey and Ramsey numbers, respectively.We show that maxR(n;G,H), in most cases, can be expressed in terms of vertex arboricity of H and it does not depend on the graph G. In particular, we determine maxR(n;G,H) asymptotically for all graphs G and H, where G is not a star and H has vertex arboricity at least 3.In studying minR(n;G,H) we primarily concentrate on the case when G=H=K₃. We find minR(n;K₃,K₃) exactly, as well as all extremal colorings. Among others, by investigating minR(n;K_t,K₃), we show that if an edge-coloring of K_n in k colors has no monochromatic K_t and no rainbow triangle, then n?2^kt2.     

Edge-partitions of graphs of nonnegative characteristic and their game coloring numbers

Let G be a graph of nonnegative characteristic and let g(G) and Δ(G) be its girth and maximum degree, respectively. We show that G has an edge-partition into a forest and a subgraph H so that (1) Δ(H)?1 if g(G)?11; (2) Δ(H)?2 if g(G)?7; (3) Δ(H)?4 if either g(G)?5 or G does not contain 4-cycles and 5-cycles; (4) Δ(H)?6 if G does not contain 4-cycles. These results are applied to find the following upper bounds for the game coloring number col_g(G) of G: (1) col_g(G)?5 if g(G)?11; (2) col_g(G)?6 if g(G)?7; (3) col_g(G)?8 if either g(G)?5 or G contains no 4-cycles and 5-cycles; (4) col_g(G)?10 if G does not contain 4-cycles.     

Degree sum of a pair of independent edges and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Z</Emphasis><Subscript>3</Subscript>-connectivity

Let G be a 2-edge-connected simple graph on n vertices. For an edge e = uv ∈ E(G), define d(e) = d(u) + d(v). Let F denote the set of all simple 2-edge-connected graphs on n ≥ 4 vertices such that G ∈ F if and only if d(e) + d(e’) ≥ 2n for every pair of independent edges e, e’ of G. We prove in this paper that for each G ∈ F, G is not Z ₃-connected if and only if G is one of K _2,n?2, K _3,n?3, K _2,n?2 ⁺ , K _3,n?3 ⁺ or one of the 16 specified graphs, which generalizes the results of X. Zhang et al. [Discrete Math., 2010, 310: 3390–3397] and G. Fan and X. Zhou [Discrete Math., 2008, 308: 6233–6240].     

A note on acyclic edge coloring of complete bipartite graphs

An acyclic edge coloring of a graph is a proper edge coloring such that there are no bichromatic (2-colored) cycles. The acyclic chromatic index of a graph is the minimum number k such that there is an acyclic edge coloring using k colors and is denoted by a^′(G). Let Δ=Δ(G) denote the maximum degree of a vertex in a graph G. A complete bipartite graph with n vertices on each side is denoted by K_n,n. Alon, McDiarmid and Reed observed that a^′(K_p−1,p−1)=p for every prime p. In this paper we prove that a^′(K_p,p)≤p+2=Δ+2 when p is prime. Basavaraju, Chandran and Kummini proved that a^′(K_n,n)≥n+2=Δ+2 when n is odd, which combined with our result implies that a^′(K_p,p)=p+2=Δ+2 when p is an odd prime. Moreover we show that if we remove any edge from K_p,p, the resulting graph is acyclically Δ+1=p+1-edge-colorable.     

On the chromatic index of multigraphs without large triangles

Let M be a multigraph. Vizing (Kibernetika (Kiev)1 (1965), 29–39) proved that χ′(M)≤Δ(M)+μ(M). Here it is proved that if χ′(M)≥Δ(M)+s, where $\text{1}\text{2}\text{(μ(M) + 1) < s}$ then M contains a 2s-sided triangle. In particular, (C′) if μ(M)≤2 and M does not contain a 4-sided triangle then χ′(M)≤Δ(M) + 1. Javedekar (J. Graph Theory4 (1980), 265–268) had conjectured that (C) if G is a simple graph that does not induce K_1,3 or K₅?e then χ(G)≤ω(G) + 1. The author and Schmerl (Discrete Math.45 (1983), 277–285) proved that (C′) implies (C); thus Javedekar's conjecture is true.     

Radius-edge-invariant and diameter-edge-invariant graphs

The eccentricity e(v) of v is the distance to a farthest vertex from v. The radius r(G) is the minimum eccentricity among the vertices of G and the diameter d(G) is the maximum eccentricity. For graph G−e obtained by deleting edge e in G, we have r(G−e)?r(G) and d(G−e)?d(G). If for all e in G, r(G−e)=r(G), then G is radius-edge-invariant. Similarly, if for all e in G, d(G−e)=d(G), then G is diameter-edge-invariant. In this paper, we study radius-edge-invariant and diameter-edge-invariant graphs and obtain characterizations of radius-edge-invariant graphs and diameter-edge-invariant graphs of diameter two.     

On graphs critical with respect to vertex partition numbers

For k?0, ?_k(G) denotes the Lick-White vertex partition number of G. A graph G is called (n, k)-critical if it is connected and for each edge e of G?_k(G–e)<?_k(G)=n. We describe all (2, k)-critical graphs and for n?3,k?1 we extend and simplify a result of Bollobás and Harary giving one construction of a family of (n, k)-critical graphs of every possible order.     

The equivariant topology of stable Kneser graphs

The stable Kneser graph SG_n,k, n?1, k?0, introduced by Schrijver (1978) [19], is a vertex critical graph with chromatic number k+2, its vertices are certain subsets of a set of cardinality m=2n+k. Björner and de Longueville (2003) [5] have shown that its box complex is homotopy equivalent to a sphere, Hom(K₂,SG_n,k)?Sk. The dihedral group D2m acts canonically on SG_n,k, the group C₂ with 2 elements acts on K₂. We almost determine the (C₂×D2m)-homotopy type of Hom(K₂,SG_n,k) and use this to prove the following results.The graphs SG_2s,4 are homotopy test graphs, i.e. for every graph H and r?0 such that Hom(SG_2s,4,H) is (r−1)-connected, the chromatic number χ(H) is at least r+6.If k∉{0,1,2,4,8} and n?N(k) then SG_n,k is not a homotopy test graph, i.e. there are a graph G and an r?1 such that Hom(SG_n,k,G) is (r−1)-connected and χ(G)<r+k+2.     

Labeling graphs with two distance constraints

Given a graph G and integers p,q,d₁ and d₂, with p>q, d₂>d₁?1, an L(d₁,d₂;p,q)-labeling of G is a function f:V(G)→{0,1,2,…,n} such that |f(u)−f(v)|?p if d_G(u,v)?d₁ and |f(u)−f(v)|?q if d_G(u,v)?d₂. A k-L(d₁,d₂;p,q)-labeling is an L(d₁,d₂;p,q)-labeling f such that max_v∈V(G)f(v)?k. The L(d₁,d₂;p,q)-labeling number ofG, denoted by , is the smallest number k such that G has a k-L(d₁,d₂;p,q)-labeling. In this paper, we give upper bounds and lower bounds of the L(d₁,d₂;p,q)-labeling number for general graphs and some special graphs. We also discuss the L(d₁,d₂;p,q)-labeling number of G, when G is a path, a power of a path, or Cartesian product of two paths.     

On the chromatic forcing number of a random graph

When we wish to compute lower bounds for the chromatic number χ(G) of a graph G, it is of interest to know something about the ‘chromatic forcing number’ f_χ(G), which is defined to be the least number of vertices in a subgraph H of G such that χ(H) = χ(G). We show here that for random graphs G_n,p with n vertices, f_χ(G_n,p) is almost surely at least ($\text{1}\text{2}$?ε)n, despite say the fact that the largest complete subgraph of G_n,p has only about log n vertices.